Novocure said its Phase 3 Trident trial in newly diagnosed glioblastoma missed its primary goal, with overall survival essentially unchanged between the two study arms.
In the intent-to-treat population, patients who started tumor treating fields therapy at the beginning of chemoradiation lived a median 17.7 months, compared with 17.5 months for patients who began therapy in the maintenance phase. The hazard ratio was 0.953 and the p-value was 0.519.
Even so, the company said survival remained durable in both groups over longer follow-up. One-year survival was 70.9% in the early-start arm versus 72.0% in the maintenance-start arm. At two years, survival was 33.9% versus 31.6%, and at three years it was 22.5% versus 18.4%.
Trident enrolled 981 patients, randomized shortly after surgery. About 25% of patients across both arms did not make it to the maintenance phase. The median age was 60. Patient characteristics were balanced: 38% had a KPS of 70 or 80, 39% had a methylated MGMT promoter, and 5% had IDH-mutant tumors. On surgery status, 51% had gross total resection, 37% partial resection, and 12% biopsy only.
Novocure said the therapy was well tolerated and no new safety signals were seen. The company also said early initiation of tumor treating fields during chemoradiation was feasible.
The results have been accepted for presentation at the ASTRO 2026 annual meeting. The market has reacted to these announcements by moving the company's shares -17.59% to a price of $14.71. For the full picture, make sure to review NovoCure Ltd's 8-K report.
